HELP: The Farthing 'myth'

[Billy Bulger]

Hi everyone, I'm new and I was hoping someone could help me out with this. Up until recently I like many, considered the eerily placed farthings by Annie's feet merely another enduring myth of the Ripper and his legacy. But several authors in the last several years have claimed that the farthing 'myth' is, in fact, truth. Can someone clear this up for me or is this yet another area of Ripper study thats destined for perpetual argument?

Thanks guys

[Dan Norder]

Hey BB,

There is no police record of farthings having been found at Chapman's feet. It seems to have come from garbled press accounts, like a lot of the other standard myths. For the longest time book authors didn't have access to police documents and just repeated press claims over and over. Some recent authors are still passing off these myths as accurate just because they don't know any better. That's probably all it is in this case, depending upon which books you had read.

The partly confusing part here is that there was an ambiguous reference to the Chapman murder by a police officer discussing a later murder in which a polished farthing was found under the body. Some authors have decided that this meant that there was, in fact, also one of more farthings by Chapman's body. What this officer was referring to was not to any coin by Chapman's body but to witness reports around the time of the Chapman murder that a suspicious man in the area had been trying to pass altered coins as a higher denomination than what they actually were. It's possible the authors you refer to are familiar with this report and were confused by it... though they may not have known anything about it and were just going by extremely outdated information from old books.

[DVV]

Hello,
To the confusing part, we could add that Major Smith refers to the fartings in his memoirs, and so did inspector Reid in a later murder's case (this is to be found in the sourcebook, I think).
Thanks.
DVV (broken-english poster)

[Magpie]

I wrote a brief article about this in the Rip, and while the rest of the "arrangement" can be dismissed as press hyperbole, the farthings myth does seem to have some grounding (whether that makes them relevant is another argument altogether).

As Dan pointed out, there was a possible instance of someone passing off polished medals or farthings as half-sovereigns on Hanbury street shortly before the murder--the description of that miscreant was actually pretty close to that of the suspect Piggott, who was eventually found and cleared of the murders. It might be worth considering that Piggott was the source of the myth--certainly after he was found and cleared the police seemed to lose interest in the "polished farthing" angle.

[kensei]

If there had been any type of coins at Annie's feet I suppose it would have had to have been considered one of the Ripper's cruel jokes, like he was paying her for her services after killing her.

But it's also widely written about that two rings had been taken from her fingers and that rather than farthings the contents of her pockets- a comb, a folded piece of muslin, an envelope containing some pills, etc.- were arranged neatly at her feet. Aren't those things considered to be accurately reported?

[John Savage]

Surely Some Mistake

"To the confusing part, we could add that Major Smith refers to the fartings in his memoirs"

A simple typing error no doubt, yet it does rather some up some peoples opinion of Major Smith's memoirs.

Rgds
John

[Sam Flynn]

Hi Ken,

a comb, a folded piece of muslin, an envelope containing some pills, etc.- were arranged neatly at her feet. Aren't those things considered to be accurately reported?

The envelope was found near Annie's head - although you might be forgiven for thinking otherwise, after various books and movies stubbornly place them at her feet, along with the other "Canonical 5 Items" (comb, muslin and two farthings). As to being "neatly" or "carefully" arranged, this only seems to have appeared once in all the newspaper reports I've found (in the St James Gazette), and it's interesting to see exactly what the papers did say at the time. In compiling the following summary, I was struck by the importance of taking both Inspector Chandler's and Dr Phillips' evidence into account:

London Evening News, 14th Sept. Chandler: "After the body had been removed I found this piece of coarse muslin, a small-tooth comb, and a small comb in a paper case. They were lying near the feet of the body. A small piece of paper-a portion of an envelope-was found near. It contained two pills." (Phillips' testimony is given in some detail, but this paper omits his take on the muslin/comb etc.)

Daily Telegraph, 13th Sept. Chandler: "I obtained some sacking to cover it before the arrival of the surgeon, who came at about half- past six o'clock, and he, having examined the body, directed that it should be removed to the mortuary. After the body had been taken away I examined the yard, and found a piece of coarse muslin, a small tooth comb, and a pocket hair comb in a case. They were lying near the feet of the woman. A portion of an envelope was found near her head, which contained two pills." Ibid., Phillips: "I searched the yard and found a small piece of coarse muslin, a small-tooth comb, and a pocket-comb, in a paper case, near the railing. They had apparently been arranged there."

Morning Advertiser 14th Sept. Chandler: "After the body had been removed there were found in the yard a piece of muslin, a pocket comb, and a small tooth comb in a leather case. They were lying near where the feet of the deceased had been. A piece of paper - a portion of an envelope - was found near the spot where the head had been, and this contained two pills." Ibid., Phillips: "I searched the yard, and found a small piece of coarse muslin and the other articles mentioned by Inspector Chandler. The muslin and combs had apparently been arranged, or placed in order, where I found them."

The Times, 14th Sept. Chandler: "After the body had been removed, a piece of coarse muslin and a small pocket haircomb case were found. A portion of an envelope was found lying near where her head had been, and a pice of paper containing two pills." Ibid., Phillips: "[Phillips] searched the yard, and in doing so found a small piece of coarse muslin and a pocket comb in a paper case lying at the feet of the woman near the paling; and they had apparently been placed there in order, or arranged there."

St James Gazette, 14th Sept. Chandler: "[Chandler] searched the yard and there found two pocket combs and a piece of muslin. A piece of an envelope that contained two pills was also discovered. All these articles were found near where the woman's feet had been." Ibid., Phillips: "He found in the yard, which he examined, a piece of muslin and two combs which had evidently been carefully arranged and placed against the side of the yard."

East London Advertiser, 15th Sept. Chandler: "After the body had been removed witness saw lying in the yard the piece of coarse muslin produced, a small toothcomb, and a pocket comb in a paper case. They were lying near the feet of the body. A small piece of paper, a portion of an envelope, had also been lying near the head, that containing two pills." Ibid., Phillips: "He searched the yard, and found the small piece of muslin and the other articles mentioned by Inspector Chandler at the feet of the body, apparently as if arranged there in order."

Things to note:

1. Inspector Chandler only ever says that he saw the items after the body had been removed;

2. Chandler states that they lay near where the deceased's feet had been;

3. Phillips only ever mentions the items in the context of searching the yard, not in the context of his examination of the body;

4. Phillips says that the items were placed as if arranged, whereas Chandler never makes such a claim;

5. Phillips mentions the items being arranged near the paling/railing, whereas Chandler doesn't mention the paling/railing once.

If Chandler only noticed the items after the body had been moved, and Phillips only noticed them upon inspecting the yard, it seems possible - if not probable - that they were obscured from view until the body was lifted out of the way. Chandler, examining the ground on which the body had once lain, may then have found the items and moved them carefully to one side, closer to the palings than they had been. Moments later, perhaps having supervised the body's journey to the ambulance, Phillips returns and starts his inspection of the yard, finding the items that Chandler had placed near the fence.

[kensei]

Thank you for that lengthy reply Sam, you are extremely concise. It almost seems that nearly every melodramatic bit of Ripper folklore turns out to have some more mundane explanation. (Well, I really shoudln't say that since there are a few I am still invested in.)

There were also personal items found scattered around the body of Catherine Eddowes, weren't there, as if her pockets had been rifled through?

[Sam Flynn]

Thank you for that lengthy reply Sam, you are extremely concise. It almost seems that nearly every melodramatic bit of Ripper folklore turns out to have some more mundane explanation.

Well, it's only a suggestion, Ken - but thank you.

There were also personal items found scattered around the body of Catherine Eddowes, weren't there, as if her pockets had been rifled through?

For an Eddowes thread, methinks.

In Annie's case, what's to say that the Ripper didn't make her turn out her pockets and hand over her rings, as a "mugging" ruse prior to killing her? He may even have made her lay out the items on the ground herself ("Put wot you got on the floor - no funny business!") so as to throw her off her guard.

Another, rather distressing, speculation, but not too wild I hope.

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

An interesting discussion on this thread...

You may correct me, if I am wrong, but wasn't it the American Mafia, covering their victims eyes with coins sometimes?!

Maybe this thing coming up to the general public also created this Farthing myth?!

All the best
Jukka

[Billy Bulger]

Thanks guys, the farthing issue is an area of the Ripper case I find particularly interesting because I feel if it is true then it tells us alot about our killer. Considering the dire poverty that riddled Whitechapel during the Ripper's reign, if the killer was a Whitechapel resident it seems strange (to me at least) that he would surrender any money or, if the money was Chapman's from an earlier client, that he would abstain from taking it. Dont worry I'm not attempting to perpetuate Royalty connections but I do believe that if Paul Feldman among other authors is correct regarding the farthings, then this solitary action all but exonerates the likes of Joseph Barnett and other local working class suspects.

[Christine]

"To the confusing part, we could add that Major Smith refers to the fartings in his memoirs"

A simple typing error no doubt, yet it does rather some up some peoples opinion of Major Smith's memoirs.

Rgds
John

DVV has mentioned on a couple of occasions that English is not his first language.

Suffice it to say that while the words may look and sound similar, the meaning is quite unlike....

[Roy Corduroy]

Major Smith refers to the fartings...

Where's blind boy George Dixon when we need him? Recall he heard a man order a drink for Clay Pipe Alice.

Roy

[Christine]

Hello you all!

An interesting discussion on this thread...

You may correct me, if I am wrong, but wasn't it the American Mafia, covering their victims eyes with coins sometimes?!

Maybe this thing coming up to the general public also created this Farthing myth?!

All the best
Jukka

Sometimes the Greeks and Italians (and probably other cultures as well) place coins on the eyes so that the deceased has money to pay the ferryman for passage to the land of the dead. If a dead person can't pay, he may have to wander as a ghost until he finds some money. There seem to be some variants out there, but the general idea is that you might have to pay a bribe after death. This sort of melds into the whole idea of burying people with things that they might have use for in the afterlife, right up to the pyramids full of treasure. Grave robbers of course will meet up with ghosts trying to get their money back.

I looked on the web, but couldn't find any reason why the mafia were particularly fond of this, but everyone seems to agree it was to pay the ferryman. Possibly they were afraid of their victims coming back as ghosts.

It is not impossible that the killer was afraid of ghosts, or wanted Chapman to have her stuff in the afterlife, but usually these things have to be placed with the body and buried. And this sort of ritual burial is not really consistent with dumping her in the street. It's much more likely that the stuff was just dropped and then set out of the way by Chandler, or someone else.

[Ben]

In Annie's case, what's to say that the Ripper didn't make her turn out her pockets and hand over her rings, as a "mugging" ruse prior to killing her?

Not a bad thought, Gareth. The mugging/robbing ruse was adopted in Australia and San Francisco by Ivan Milat and the Zodiac respectively, and in Jack's case, it may only have been a "semi-ruse"; that is to say he may also have wished to rob his victims for real.

Best regards,
Ben